Jim Elder

Robert James Elder, OC (born 27 July 1934) is a Canadian retired equestrian. He competed at six Olympic Games between 1956 and 1984, winning one gold and one bronze medal. He missed the 1964 and 1980 Olympics because Canada did not send eventing and jumping teams there.[1]

Jim Elder
Elder in 1961
Personal information
Born27 July 1934 (1934-07-27) (age 85)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada[1]
Height172 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight70 kg (154 lb)
Sport
SportEquestrian
Event(s)Show jumping, 3-day eventing
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
1968 Mexico City Team jumping
1956 Stockholm Team eventing
Pan American Games
1959 ChicagoTeam eventing
1971 CaliTeam jumping
1983 CaracasIndividual jumping
1983 CaracasTeam jumping
1967 WinnipegTeam jumping
1975 Mexico CityTeam jumping
World Championships
1970 La BauleTeam jumping

Biography

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Elder started competitive jumping at the age of 16 in 1950. In 36 years of competition, he won an Olympic gold medal, one Olympic bronze, five Pan American medals, and a world title. Elder was Canada's flag bearer at the closing ceremony of the 1972 Munich Olympics.[2] In 1983, he was honoured with the Order of Canada. He was inducted into the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (1968), Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame (1971), Canada's Walk of Fame (2003), Canadian Eventing Hall of Fame (2009), and the Jump Canada (2010) Hall of Fame.[3]

Elder graduated from the University of Toronto where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and later ran a successful refrigeration company.[1] Since retiring, he has worked with Big Brothers and several other charity foundations including the Community Association of Riding for the Disabled in Ontario and the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association and is one of the co-founders of the Toronto Polo Club.

Elder's brother, Norman Elder was an author and explorer. He was also an Olympic equestrian rider at the 1960 and 1968 Olympics.[4] The brothers were on the same eventing teams at the 1959 Pan American Games and 1960 Olympics.[1]

See also

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jim Elder". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2009-06-06.
  2. "1972 Munich". Canadian Olympic Committee. 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  3. Jim Elder. Canada's Walk of Fame
  4. "Norman Elder". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
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